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Excellent, but you have to know how to use it

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: February 24, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Falcon 4 is really two programs, a flight simulation and a ground war simulation. In my opinion, it's the best flight simulation and the best war game currently available.

Too many people have missed the amazing experience of the Falcon 4 campaign because of the irritating bugs. If you set up the program very carefully, however, the bugs aren't a problem. This worked for me: (1) start with a fast CPU, a up-to-date 3dfx video card and Win98SE with DirectX 6.1a (2) Defrag and install Falcon 4, the 1.08 patch and the 1.08i2 iBeta executable. Download all the latest device drivers. (3) Read the Falcon 4 articles and user forum at "combatsim". Do everything suggested in combatsim's "F4 Tuning" article. (4) Use PC Magazine's "Enditall" utility to terminate all unnecessary background processes before starting Falcon 4. (5) Save, exit and restart each time you end a flight in the F16. These steps will make Falcon 4 about as stable as, say, Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2000. If you're tired of ordinary computer games, it's worth the trouble.

Give This Sim A Break...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: January 21, 2000
Author: Amazon User

While searching for a good flight sim to add to my library, I read customer reviews of Falcon 4.0 on Amazon.com, was disappointed to see so many low ratings it got, then decided I should give up the 20 bucks to find out for myself.

I haven't scratched the surface of this sim yet as far as missions and AI, although I know what to expect, having flown versions 2.0 and 3.0. I came back to put in a good word for Falcon 4.0. However it seems David Smallwood's review beat me to the punch! I second his opinion....

Let's put it this way: If you're serious about recreating a hyper-realistic flying experience and not just playing a game, this is the sim to get. Granted, it may have been buggy before; I don't know. I downloaded the upgrade only a week after original purchase. It makes it work. Period.

The game is gorgeous, there are scads of infinately detailed switches and dials to set, the flight model is like butta', the views are beautiful, the sounds are terrific, the interface is good and the price is a no-brainer.

And you know what's the best part of this program? These days when you're lucky to get a 6-page installation guide with gaming software, MicroProse assembles the best set of documentation I've ever seen in the classic 'Buy the manual, get the software free' style: almost 300 pages tucked in a 'Squadron Leader Special Edition' three-ring binder with laminated tabbed sections dividers, a separate cadet quick-learning guide, a beautiful reference chart, and full-color map of Korea.... all for the ridiculously low price of under $19.95!

My advice if you're addicted to flight: pick this box up and getcher butt in flight school. It's going to take a lot of studying.

For the record, my PC is a 450MHz, with 128MB SDRAM, an 8MB videocard with Voodoo 2 3Dfx accelerator and MS Sidewinder Pro Force Feedback joystick. With this configuration I can run all the settings at full bore and it's sweet.

The benchmark by which they will all be measured

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: February 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Summary: Fantastic flight model, incredible depth of simulation, amazing thoroughness of detail, beautiful scenery, fairly stable with 1.08 patch. Also, absolutely spellbinding on every level. The only jet fighter simulator better than this is classified.

Words simply cannot express the mind-boggling excellence of this simulation, or my level of satisfaction at finally buying, installing and taking on its challenge.
I'm a real-life pilot with over 2000 hours of small airplane flight time, and I think it's safe to say that I've got about 10,000 hours of "flight" time on classic sims such as F-19, F-117A, Janes WWII Fighters, EF2000, Mig Alley, Falcon 3.0, Janes F-15 Strike Eagle and FS98. I started "flying" on an Apple IIe in 1983, on the original Microsoft Flight simulator with a green screen monitor. Aviation, especially fighter aviation, has been an obsession of mine since I was 6 years old. If your profile sounds anything like mine, the simple truth is that Falcon 4.0 is your holy grail.
In the earlier Falcon 3.0, the people at Spectrum Holobyte pushed the outer limits of what the "casual" PC flyer could learn and do. In creating Falcon 4.0, the team at Microprose didn't just push those limits; they rammed right through them like a Durandal through runway concrete. Be assured, Falcon 4.0 isn't a game. It is nothing less than a full blown recreation of nearly every significant function and capability of the General Dynamics F-16C Block 50/52, and of every sight, sound and situation that the real life pilot of that aircraft would experience in wartime. Name a system, a weapon, a readout, a display, a HUD function, a capability or a feature of the real F-16, and the odds are about 98% that you'll find it perfectly simulated in Falcon 4.0. About the only thing this sim can't do, is yank the blood down out of your brain and make your head weigh 80 pounds, and I'm sure that only budget considerations stopped this world-class team of software developers from finding a way to provide us with that experience.
If all you want to do is ram the throttle forward, punch holes in the sky, and gun down the bad guys without having to think too much, the excellent "Jane's WWII Fighters" is the sim for you. If, however, you recognize that modern-day fighter pilots are the ultimate high performance human beings who combine tactical combat knowledge with the ability to manage incredibly complex airplanes and systems under intense physical and mental stress, and if taking on just the idea of that kind of challenge appeals to you, buy Falcon 4.0 right now before it disappears completely. The sad truth is that this sim is simply too good for 90% of its potential market - the average "casual" PC flyer will open the (very well written) 100+ page manual and feel like a Maverick has hit him or her in the noggin. USAF fighter pilots are some of the smartest, brightest, most over-achieving people on the planet, and to master Falcon 4.0, that's pretty much who you will need to be as well. If you've got what it takes, however, the rewards are here - and I do mean all the rewards are here. Everything. This is as good as PC-based jet fighter sims are ever going to be.
Note: This review applies to Falcon 4.0 flown in Campaign mode with avionics, flight model and systems all set to "realistic." If you just want to turn, burn and heave missiles at things, you can turn all that stuff down to "easy," enter the Dogfight arena, and have a blast! Also, the essential Version 1.08 patch can be found at "falcon4.com"

A phoenix that's rixen from the ashes numerous times.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: March 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Unfortunately, the author of the Gamespot review wrote it barely 2 months after Falcon 4.0's debuet, and a whole month before Microprose (its original owner) started releasing patches that tried to fix the problems. By the end of that year (December 7, 1999), the 1.08 patch had been released, and the game's code was relatively stable & bug free.

Of course, many have said that each patch, while fixing some things, actually broke other things in the source code. Sure, the last patch that was issued was a step in the right direction. Many thought, though, that it could've gone much further. Unfortunately, the original owner ceased all efforts with the 1.08 patch. Luckily, though, their efforts were picked up & continued by 3rd party modification groups (i.e. Realism Patch Group, eRazor, F4UT), and the code, bit & bit (through tons of turmoil), over the next 4 years, was fixed.

This is the best flight simulation I've EVER played!! The realism will BLOW YOUR MIND!! It's even better with the latest SuperPAK patch, and the Free Falcon & BMS add ons. They take Falcon 4.0 to new & exciting heights!! You will definately get your money's worth if you buy this game!! It just keeps on giving & giving!!

Setting the standards

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 27, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Ok; first off, we are talking about the version 1.08...you really need to upgrade if you had the original sim. Today and after trying and flying hundreds of hours in FA18/ F15/ F22's and so on... I still find this game at least compelling. The graphics quality are well above the rest, thousands of square miles of photographic-like rendered images of the Korean peninsula makes you just want to fly around to enjoy the scenery. Sounds, engine whining, voices and air lingo are fun and well crafted. The plane's design deserved thumbs up whenever you are not using the gun... The campaign IS dynamic and the mission builder a mystery to be revealed since I had the game for less than 1 month. As expected, you also have to have a fast processor and 16MB in your 3D video card to enjoy it thoroughly. But there's always a catch...and in this case may not be a drawback if you have the time to spend learning to master this birdie. It's the most realistic sim ever. The user's manual is over 400 pages and the learning curve is steep enough to make you dizzy from the glare of your monitor. And there's a plus : it's less than 20 bucks! If you like to study manuals and want everything that you may have in a fighter jet except the G's... this is it and it's worth every single penny.

Still the most realistic jet sim out there

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: May 07, 2001
Author: Amazon User

When you buy this title, you should realize you are not buying your typical computer game, but instead an incredibly realistic simulator. Therefore, you should realize it will take a lot of practise, training and reading through the excellent manual before you start flying serious online or campaign missions. However, I believe going through that process is part of what makes it so great - you really feel a sense of achievement once you start noticing you don't end up being killed during every campaign mission anymore, you are able to get your weapons on targer and you actually start understanding what is going on around you.

It has been quite a while since the original, buggy, sim that some people here complain about was released. In the meantime it has been upgraded to an incredible level of realism. This goes far beyond just the official patches - a group of coders (eteam) have actually improved it to a level where almost every button and switch in the cockpit is functional and they are still at it. At the same time, the graphics engine has been improved to make use of the newer graphics cards. These are all free upgrades and the latest at the time of writing was eFalcon 1.09. Just do a search on the web for links to all the downloads or helpful forums.

You can also find incredible cockpits, skins and now even new theaters on the web. The work and time spent by the people creating all these add-ons have turned this sim into something that I believe won't be matched for a long time. And since they are still at it, the game you get in the end is brand new and much, much more than what you find in the box.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, someone buying this product should realize it is much more than a game and about as realistic as a non-classified sim can get. Therefore, if you are looking for just a "game", I suggest you look elsewhere as this sim is demanding - in setting up and managing all the add-ons as well as of course the actual gameplay. However, there is also an extremely wide range of resources, including many forums with very helpful enthusiasts, available to help you get the most out of it. This sim, like most flightsims, also demands a good computer and be prepared to turn down some of the graphic settings in order to achieve smooth play if you have an older system.

If you are a hardcore simmer and would really like to know what is is like to fly a modern jet fighter, this title is what you were looking for.

Probably Best Combat Flight Sim of All Time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

If you crave realism, Falcon 4 is the flight sim for you. Download the SP3 (or whatever is the latest) realism patch ...and the avionics become much more realistic, you get weather effects, up-to-date weapons and platforms, and a much more stable sim. The original Falcon 4 was buggy and crashed a lot. With the latest patches that is a thing of the past. Recommend a beefy PC to play this game; it needs high performance to run IMO.

The Ultimate Hardcore Sim

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: December 09, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I have owned and played Falcon 4.0 for a year now. It is certainly not for the casual sim user, in fact I find it to be the absolute most realistic sim experience I've ever had. It took a while to learn the ins and outs, actually I still am. It's a constant learning experience, I still get shot down on campain missions occasionaly, miss the target on occation etc. And of course the graphics are amazing as well. I would highly recomend this game to anyone who is looking for an extreme challenge in flight simulation.

It's the mother of all flight sims

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 18, 2001
Author: Amazon User

If you want a flight sim that's easy to learn and quick to fly, thenthis is NOT the one for you. If you are a dedicated flight simmer,then this is the one you must have. It has a very steep learning curveand a very complicated manual. At first release, it was verybuggy. Then Hasbro bailed out on it after one or two patches. But, ithas a very dedicated following(truly international)including manycomputer geniuses. They have produced (FOR FREE) many add-ons andfixes. After you buy and load it, go straight to the Falcon4website. From there you can download all the add-ons and patches,including extra cockpits for the Mig-29, F-14, and B-1 bomber. I havea Pentium II 333 with a voodoo3 2000 video card and 256 megs ofRAM. It runs well, but a faster chip and a better video card will makeit even more interesting. You'll need at least 128 megs of RAM to runsmoothly, although some people have said it runs OK on less. The bestfeature is the dynamic campaign. It's the US and South Korea vs. NorthKorea, although Red China and Russia may jump in also. There are 3different campaigns in which you can adjust strength levels. Also, itnow has a feature where you can have a Korean winter set up and a newadd-on just released- a campaign in the Balkans, with new terrain andeverything! Every week new things are being added such as moreaccurate flight models for all aircraft and new terrains for campaignsin the desert of the Middle East, Israel, and Southern Europe(all inthe works). It flys on-line very well, with dogfighting, campaigns, orTE's that you can make yourself. It's like many, many sims rolled intoone! It's a steal at the present price.

A Stellar Performer!! Great sim!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: September 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

You know you're on to something in a flight simulation when some of your daydreams revolve around the next opportunity to fly the Falcon 4.0 instead of the largely lascivious prattle we guys normally ponder. Make no mistake about it, it has been fraught with a constellation of infuriating little bugs. I invite your attention to my little incident of being inattentive to ATC vectoring commands and being vectored to a North Korean airfield.

Having said that, I can launch into a long string of superlatives in praising the textured graphics, mission editing, flight model, sound and lots and lots of other astonishingly great stuff. Needless to say, I am greatly enamoured.

I am running 512 MG of SDRAM on a P4 at 2.13GHz. with a 64MB DDR Hercules 4500 with Kyro chip on a 21in. monitor. When I crank everything up to its max the experience is truly cosmic. I can see, however that if you are running anything more austere, you will need to trim the performance back on the sim (a little)as well as kill some of your background apps. But it will be well worth it! Don't miss this one!!!

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